I won this for super cheap last week. It was unidentified but I "think" I may have figured it out. What is the groups' thoughts? Thracian kings, Kavaros, ca. 225-219 BC. AE, 5.94 gr. Kabyle mint. Laureate head of Apollo right / BAΣIΛEΩΣ KAYAΡOY, Nike standing left, holding wreath and palm. N-like monogram in left field. Based on this example: https://www.wildwinds.com/coins/greece/thrace/kings/kavaros/t.html
That is a pretty reasonable attribution, @furryfrog02 - I really like to get unattributed ancients and then spend hours trying to figure them out. It keeps me out of the taverns! I had a lot of difficulty with the one and only Kabyle / Cabyle ancient I have. This is a countermarked issue that will be of no help to you whatsoever, but since Kabyle seems to be a place with few coins (per Wildwinds) I'll toss it out here: Cabyle, Thrace Æ 15 (250-200 B.C.) Laureate head right (Apollo?) / Lyre (?), Greek inscription. Countermarks: Both obverse: 1. Artemis Phosphoros holding 2 torches (?) in 8 mm circle. 2. Cluster of grapes in 6 mm circle. Tapolov Countermarking p. 240, 4 Houghton & Lorber 2002 173, 184 (2.78 grams / 15 mm) eBay Nov. 2019 Lot @ $2.20 Attribution Note: "The Countermarks of Cabyle" by Dimitae Dkagabov describes countermark: "...depicts Artemis Phosophoros holding two long torches...between 6 and 8 mm" He notes 135 specimens from 16 countermark punches. Host: I can't find it (Dec. 2019) Here is the Artemis countermark right-side-up (headless, unfortunately):
I love unattributed coins. Figuring out what they are is a lot of fun and I learn a ton in the process. I had never heard of Kavaros or Kabyle before this coin. Since this coin featured Nike and cost pocket change, I figured "Hey why not". I wish there was a bit more of the legend on the reverse so I could know 100% but as it stands...I'm about 95%. That is a great looking countermarked, @Marsyas Mike !
I do, too, but I prefer unattributed coins that have all their detail so the challenge is lessened by all the lost detail. Some will say that there is no challenge in attributing detailed coins but my skills are not equal to yours when it comes to reading what is not there. I would probably have had trouble with your coin in mint state.
Awww shucks. You flatter me...but we both know that's not true lol You are still the Master and I am but a humble apprentice haha. I, too, prefer more detailed coins but budget doesn't allow for such. This coin was purchased for less than $5. Can't complain at that price at all. The history that I learned from just this coin was worth that price alone. My picture doesn't do it justice, but it has a beautiful green patina.
So when you say "all their detail," you do not mean....this! A $5 Julia Domna sestertius from eBay! Such a lovely green, with weird "alligator patina." But seriously, it is indeed a horror show. But, I did spend a couple hours trying to figure it out, which was well worth the five bucks. And, if I have my attribution right, this is a fairly scarce issue, not that its condition makes it particularly collectible. Below is my attribution efforts, with two possible die matches, based on my very, very inexpert evaluation of Julia Domna's "needle-nose" portraits and my hard-to-see specimen. I might've had less to go on than the @furryfrog02 OP: Julia Domna Æ Sestertius (196-211 A.D.) Rome Mint [IVL]IA (faint) [AVGVSTA], draped bust right, hair waved and coiled at back / [DIANA LVCIFERA] S C, Diana standing left, crescent on neck, holding torch in both hands RIC IV Septimius Severus 851. (13.78 grams / 26 x 25 mm) eBay Feb. 2022 Dad-IU $5.00 Attribution Notes: Found only four of these, three on OCRE: British Museum BM-69CCF8: obv. /rev.die match? (note the needle-nose portrait); 23.8 g. Artemide - Asta Auction 29E: Lot # 279 (03/21/15) obv. die match? (needle-nose like BM) PAS: Corroded, light-weight specimen (11 grams / 28 mm) University of Freiburg O2989: Nice; (26.01 grams / 31 mm) Here are my needle-nose die matches, or maybe not: British Museum in the middle: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1993-0401-63 Artemide Asta auction on right: https://www.deamoneta.com/en/auctions/view/302/279
I like it! But come on...It's clearly Julia Domna and the figure on the back with a torch is Diana All I had to go on was a partial letter on the reverse next to a partial Nike and a guess that it was Apollo on the obverse CLEARLY mine was the tougher ID BTW - I really like that sestertius of yours. I'm not sure what that cracking all over the obverse is but it's kinda cool. Is it the patina? Is it in the metal? I don't think I've seen a coin like it before. And the bust is nice enough for it to be ID'd. Definitely worth the money! Even better that it is a scarce issue!
Actually, I agree yours was a lot harder to ID - the Julia/Diana aspects of my sestertius made it a pretty easy, really. The Greeks are always hard to figure out; that Cabyle countermark I posted took me days to figure out, not hours. As for that green alligator patina, I've never seen anything like it either. It appears to be patina, not metal. The fissures are green too, so I don't know if it cracked centuries ago and re-patinated in the cracks? The reverse is brown, probably not patina but toning? The edges are a bit friable; the whole thing is a mess. As for the Greeks (and Roman Provincials), they are always more of a challenge for me than Roman Imperials. Sometimes I'll buy some cheap-o on eBay figuring I'll figure it out, then find I'm stumped. For instance, this one below isn't even as horrible as a lot of mine are, but despite being clearly Hermes and a chelys (lyre), I can't figure it out. Someday, someday... It is tiny:
